It’s not enough that fabulously design rich TV shows like Downton Abbey have dragged my modernist butt into the past… but now I have to deal with my crush on Edwardian stylist Mariano Fortuny’s stunning designs. New obsession… Design Gods please help me!!

We were so fortunate and grateful to have won an LED desk lamp from Ottawa lighting specialists #Arevco. Last week we dropped by their lovely new showroom on Clyde Avenue at Laperriere to claim our prizes. Upon our exit I gazed up and there it was… a stunning chandelier which is befittingly called “Scheherazade”. How appropriate… a very mysterious and sexy character she is.

Designer Mariano Fortuny was born in Granada, the ancient Moorish capital of Spain, into a family of artists in 1871. Trained as an artist in Paris after he his father passed away, he was successful producing beautiful textiles exploring inspiration from Egypt, China, Persia, Greece and South America. He patented inventions in engineering and lighting as well as fabric and textile designs. Mariano spent a great deal of his design energy on the stage with newly invented electric light. This expanded into lighting fixture designs that incorporated dyed and hand painted silks with glass beads and silk chords… inspired by East Asia and Persian motifs.

Fortuny’s designs are simply elegant works of art. Whether a scarf, dress, chandelier or lamp shade, Fortuny has made his way into our psyches… and video screens. Next time you swoon into a period drama … say of the 1920’s … challenge yourself to see where the costumers and set designers have been inspired by Mr. Fortuny. Season 5 of Downton Abbey here we come!!

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